Jaipur, Oct 24 (UNI) Congress candidates were leading in Mandawa and Khivansar constituencies, as early trends of the October 21 Rajasthan Assembly election became available here on Thursday.
Congress candidate Rita Chaudhary from Jhunjhunu district's Mandawa seat and Congress candidate Harendra Mirdha from Nagaur district's Khivansar were leading in the first round of counting.
The by-elections were necessitated after Khivsar (Nagaur) MLA Hanuman Beniwal and Mandawa (Jhunjhunu) MLA Narendra Kumar were elected to the Lok Sabha in May this year.
If Congress is able to wrest the two seats from the BJP and its ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) in the state, the grand old party will be able to consolidate its thin majority.
Of the 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan, the Congress has 106 MLAs, including the six who defected to the party from the BSP recently.
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